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Zinjifrah
Crowing
Yes - I was watching when it hatched, and it rolled out of the egg with a well-healed naval, then got into some shards of shell from previous eggs having hatched. It was cleaned and disinfected with Chlorhexidine solution and purified water, with light pressure applied to the cut until it stopped bleeding. If it hadn't stopped, I would have applied baking powder to stop the bleeding - it works as well as corn starch or Quik-stop. I used a porous rubber mat over the top of the factory plastic screen to prevent the chicks from rubbing against hard plastic after hatching, while allowing humidity to move freely, so it wasn't from rubbing its naval on the screen. This was caught within a few minutes of happening, and the cut is firmly scabbed over now.
It does feel like toenail, but firm rather than soft. It doesn't give to pressure or show a visible change, but the chick displays discomfort when there's more than a light pressure directly applied to it - I used tweezers, to better see if there was a visual change - so it must have nerve endings, which indicates a blood supply. It does not taper at the base, or flare - it remains the same diameter. When applying pressure, I was careful not to pull against the skin, so that I could be sure the chick was responding to the pressure itself.
Edit 1: I did try to look inside the mouth, but the chick is not amenable! It is drinking without any problem - actually seems quite thirsty, or maybe it just likes the vitamin water - so it's functional. As young as it is, I don't want to risk forcing it yet.
Edit 2: I can confirm that it's eating. The other one who looks like it has a strange penchant for rolling over on its back to sleep. It rolls back onto its belly just fine when disturbed, it just... splays out flat on its back and sleeps that way.
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